Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Less Than Hero - S. G. Browne

Less Than Hero

S. G. Browne

Gallery Books, Mar 17 2015, $16.00

ISBN: 9781476711744

Although he has a degree in marketing, for the last five years
thirtyish Lloyd has earned money panhandling in the Manhattan parks and as a professional
pharmaceutical Phase One drug trial subject to determine side effects. He, like his peers, gains no health benefits
from the assorted cocktails they test. Recently
Lloyd noticed an increase in drowsiness that causes people near him suddenly to
fall asleep and rashes in places where most men prefer none to surface, among
other manifestations. Checking with his
card playing crash dummy cronies, Lloyd concludes he and his merry band of
guinea pigs have superpowers that they all agree to use as a team of
superheroes fighting crime.

At the Carnegie Deli, patron Brad begins screaming of shark
attacks and at a Starbucks customer Debra strips while screaming she is on
fire. Similar incidents lead Lloyd and
his team to believe the guinea pigs cause “normal” New Yorkers to hallucinate. As they have some success dealing with the
felonious dregs, robbers mug residents and visitors, but also eradicate the
victim’s memory of the theft.

With a nod to the films Mystery Men and Sicko, Less Than Hero is a
super (pun intended) satire that stars superhero guinea pigs who mock and
condemn an immoral pharmaceutical-government complex and the American
exceptionalism health care system.
Readers will want to join Lloyd’s stunning tour of New York; as long as
he does not cause us to hallucinate, sleep or suffer memory loss and rashes.